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On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph P. McDonald manned the switchboard at Fort Shafter in Hawaii when he received the alarming message that radar had detected a large number of planes approaching from the north, heading fast for Oahu.
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Motorists who use the Pango mobile app to pay at parking meters in Scranton will get reimbursed for any inadvertent overcharges since Sept. 1, the new operator of the city’s parking system said.
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The ailing Valley View High School pool is temporarily closed. School board directors unanimously voted Wednesday to decommission the natatorium and preserve the area until funding becomes available
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Editor: Your Oct. 23 story tells us how a man accidentally shot himself in the hand in a Scranton business and will be charged with "two counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied space."

In October 2010, a man in Scranton was arrested for accidentally discharging a rifle in an apartment. No one was shot in that incident.

Yet in February 2009, Scranton Police Lt. Leonard Namiotka accidentally shot himself in the hand, in a supermarket, a situation nearly identical to the Oct. 23 story reported in your paper.

There were no charges brought against Lt. Namiotka. Why? The police chief at that time said, "He (Namiotka) didn't do anything wrong." The district attorney said of the Namiotka incident, "Being careless with a gun under this set of circumstances is not a crime."

So, it would appear that if you are a Scranton police officer, you are above the law in Scranton. Are the citizens of Scranton OK with that? I know I'm not.

KEITH MacDONALD

OLYPHANT

Hands off signs

Editor: My neighbor, who I like and respect, put out a Romney lawn sign. Admittedly, the sign annoyed me.

Don't get me wrong, I have some friends who vote Republican. A few of them I can engage in meaningful, respectful discussion about our fundamental differences in the type of country in which we want to raise our children. The sign still annoyed me.

So I put an Obama sign on my front lawn. I live at the back of a cul-de-sac on a lightly-traveled road. The sign was there for a few short hours before a woman in heels in a white SUV drove up to my home and stole it off my front lawn.

It gets better. The next morning, while going to the school bus, I noticed my neighbor's Romney sign was also gone. Going further along, I noticed that another neighbor, who also had an Obama sign, had his sign stolen and replaced with a Romney sign, likely from my other neighbor's yard. Wow.

I will go and get more signs and make sure there is a treat from my dog waiting for the next person that tries to take my sign. The sign is mine. I will display it where I want, when I want and will not be bullied by someone who thinks I don't deserve to do so.

This is America and, while I strongly disagree with the fundamental principles of Mr. Romney's platform, I will not steal my neighbor's sign. I will fight for her right to display it. Which country do you want to live in?

JENNIFER WYNN

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP.

Faulty premise

Editor: Your Oct. 20 editorial attacking the Corbett administration over John Norbeck's resignation as state parks director was built around a faulty premise that he was forced out over disagreements about whether to permit gas drilling, commercial timbering and strip mining on state park lands. These concerns were never shared with me.

As the governor and I have stated, we have no intentions of permitting drilling on state park land. The moratorium on future leasing of state forest lands remains in effect. Mr. Norbeck knows why he no longer works for Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He knows it has absolutely nothing to do with "philosophical differences" over mineral extraction, nor is it connected to the resignation of Paulette Viola. To be clear, Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council does not have a budget to cut, as your editorial erroneously stated. DCNR reimburses applicable expenses on an ongoing basis. Over the past decade DCNR has invested more than $2 million and during that time no studies on Marcellus Shale were produced by CNRAC.

You mention Norbeck citing multiple "proposals for limestone mining and timbering at several state parks in Western Pennsylvania." We are not engaging in - nor will we engage in - commercial timbering and strip mining in our state parks.

Under Gov. Corbett's leadership, DCNR has overseen the drilling authorized by Gov. Ed Rendell on state forest lands to ensure it does not harm our natural treasures.

With the recent appointment of 38-year veteran DCNR employee Dave Kemmerer as the new director of state parks, I can assure you that the stewardship of our state parks - and our state park visitors - are in good hands.

RICHARD ALLAN

SECRETARY,

DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES,

HARRISBURG

Role fulfilled

Editor: What is Mike Washo's job now that he hired a managing firm for the Scranton Parking Authority garages.

Is Mr. Washo truly going to accept pay of $100 per hour that could total $208,000 per year?

It wasn't long ago that the city wanted to pay its employees minimum wage. Now a city authority is paying Mr. Washo $100 per hour. I don't think he's worth it.

Let him work for $50 per hour and the other $50 per hour can fund three jobs at $34,666 per year. Or, give it to the DPW, police or fire departments because without those three departments, no municipality can exist.

Come on, Mr. Washo, help the city.

JOSEPH BARONE

DICKSON CITY

Sad circumstances

Editor: The Namedropper section recently featured photos of the three Lacka-wanna County commissioners presenting checks to the Scranton and Carbondale school districts. Similar photos of the smiling commissioners presenting checks to schools in the upper valley have appeared in the Valley Advantage.

Some, if not all, of these funds were available from the sale of tax delinquent properties, which came from the sale of homes and businesses of taxpayers who lost their property because of the burden of county, school and municipal taxes.

But the commissioners appeared to have no sympathy for those whose homes were confiscated and sold. Would these men be smiling if they were pictured with poor families who had to give up their homestead? Can we forget the warning when these properties were advertised for sale: "Your property will be sold without your consent"?

How ironic the commissioners are traveling the county at the same time they announced another tax increase for county residents. How many more residents will lose their properties next year to allow a photo op for the smiling trio to be pictured distributing their bonanza?

TOM KLOPFER

ARCHBALD

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